


Conceal-me-not

by plikki



Series: Cosmetics reveals [6]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Identity Reveal, Makeup
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-18 05:35:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29729124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plikki/pseuds/plikki
Summary: Who would have thought that a blob of concealer could reveal instead? Not Adrien (or Marinette).
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: Cosmetics reveals [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2110731
Comments: 33
Kudos: 195





	Conceal-me-not

**Author's Note:**

> So I got a suggestion about a break out or an allergic reaction Marinette can't hide and before I could start contemplating if a pimple could count as body part (the questions fanfic poses to us!) I got this idea so I migrated to this series instead 😁 You read at your own risk, as usual!

When Adrien arrived at school, he found Marinette and Aya in a heated discussion. This wasn’t unusual, so he just greeted them and sat down at his desk. He didn’t expect to be invited to take part in the conversion.

“Adrien, I need your help, please. I’m sure you know more about makeup than our poor girl here,” Alya said and he turned around to find a red-faced Marinette looking panicked at him. 

“Maybe because Marinette doesn’t really need makeup,” he said with a wink, hoping that a compliment would help ease her obvious discomfort. Instead, she just blushed even more and looked like she was going to combust. 

“Whoa, whoa, hold your horses before you finish her off,” Alya laughed, patting her friend’s back. 

“Ok, what do you need from me?” He said, shaking his head. 

“Marinette here says she needs some concealer and wants to borrow mine,” Alya said pointedly. He knew he shouldn’t laugh but he could feel his lips twitch. Yikes. “See, even he thinks this is a terrible idea!”

“Marinette, a concealer is not something you get to share. Even if you search high and low you’re not likely to easily find a person with the exact same skin tone as you. So borrowing is more than risky,” he explained patiently and Alya nodded along with his words.

“But.. I need just a little,” Marinette said timidly. 

“That’s the whole predicament. You know this stuff’s expensive and if you need a blob, buying a whole package is not really worth it,” Alya agreed. “But still, I can’t help her.”

“The best option would be to go check out samples and choose the best one for you. Hey, maybe this is the answer you need! Samples. They come in small packages and are usually free. You can look around and maybe you’ll be lucky.” He finished with a smile, glad to be able to offer any helpful advice.

“That sounds like a great idea, thank you Adrien,” Alya said.

Adrien turned around, but while he was taking out his things for the class, his fingers brushed against something. 

“Now, I know what I just said,” he started, turning around with the small package in his hand. “But I happen to have a sample here, so if you’re really, really desperate, here you are,” he concluded, handing it to Marinette. “As you can see, you will have a hard time making use of even this, because your skin is lighter than mine,” he said, looking pointedly at where their fingers brushed. “But it’s better than other options, I guess,” he added, looking at Alya, who looked at him gratefully.

“See, you even get the good stuff,” Alya told Marinette. 

“Thanks, Adrien,” Marinette told him quietly.

“Glad to be of service!”

*

When Adrien arrived at the spot where the akuma was, he wasn’t surprised to see Ladybug was still missing. It happened. The akuma might have caught her in the middle of something. He waited a few minutes, keeping an eye on the villain, who didn’t seem to be causing too much trouble. 

He was just about to call her, when she dropped down on the rooftop next to him.

“M’lady, I’m glad you could make it,” he said with a bow, taking her hand in his to brush his lips against her knuckles. 

“I had a bit of an emergency,” she said nervously. That was when he looked more carefully at her and couldn’t help noticing the source of the emergency, if the smudge on her nose was any indication.

“You didn’t need to worry, you’re as beautiful as always,” he said. “However, next time, try to find something closer to your skin tone. This looks like something I’d use,” he whispered conspiratorially as he leaned in to bop her nose. 

“Ugh, are you a makeup expert as well? It seems like everyone but me is,” she grumbled. 

But Adrien was too busy thinking that yes, this looked like his colour. 

“I just had this sample a friend gave me and thought it was better than nothing,” she admitted with an embarrassed smile.

It was everything all at once - concealer, make-up expert, sample. It just rang the alarm in his head and he spoke before he could think better.

“Marinette?” He said, searching her face for final confirmation. Of course, there were the freckles and the eyes looking at him in panic were the same. 

“But how…?” She asked.

“It was me who gave you that sample after all,” he said with a grin. She gasped. “It seems like your attempt to conceal from me was not successful,” he teased her. The eye-roll told him they would be alright. 

“Akuma first, talking later?” She said.

“After you, m’lady.”

*

“Adrien, are you not curious what caused this whole situation in the first place?” Tikki said when they arrived on Marinette’s balcony, making him look at her. Even she couldn’t deny that it was very convenient that he could just drop her home when her transformation wore off first. 

“Tikki!” She protested, her cheeks blooming with colour.

“What is it?” He asked, looking from one to the other.

“I told her she was trying too hard to hide a pimple from you, considering you’re “just her partner,” you know?” The kwami making air quotes almost made him laugh, but he was curious to see what Tikki meant.

“Oh, is that true, bugaboo?” He teased Marinette. 

“Imagine what it would have been if she’d known that it was you, Adrien. She’d have spent an hour trying to get rid of the pimple for fear that it would be the thing to make you decide you’re not going to marry her or something.” 

He blinked at the kwami, before turning to his very, very red lady. 

“Why would you worry about such a thing?”

“Um, I..” 

“Because she’s in love with you!” With that final declaration, Tikki left them alone.

“Oh, wow.”

“Oh God.” 

He smiled at how different their reactions were.

“Tikki looked quite fed-up with you for some reason,” he said, to diffuse the embarrassment.

“I can’t even blame her,” Marinette muttered. 

“So…”

“So, yeah. You know now.”

“You shouldn’t be so embarrassed about a pimple. I wouldn’t have paid any attention to it.” She shot him a look.

“This is what you want to talk about?”

“All I’m saying is, I’m glad you didn’t think to use the concealer on those lovely freckles of yours. That would have been criminal.”

“Flatterer,” she said, but she still giggled.

“I doubt it will win me anything, but it’s worth a shot,” he said with a wink. She moved so fast that he didn’t have time to blink before he found himself a lot closer to her, her hand on his bell. 

“How about this?” She smiled, only a hint of nervousness in her voice. And then she kissed him! He practically melted into her, sending a silent thanks to Tikki. 

“I’ll definitely ramp up the compliments if they mean kisses,” he said when she pulled back. Marinette shook her head, but didn’t protest. Win! “I’ll also have to thank my makeup artist,” he said before leaning in again. “For this.”

He already knew that he’d tell her next time that the only makeup she needed was her lovely blush. But that would be next time since she was already kissing him again and it would kind of defeat the purpose. 


End file.
